Don’t Let the Holidays Weigh You Down!

The holidays are HANDS DOWN the time that most people fall victim to indulgences and susceptible to weight gain or falling off their fitness train… So how do we battle that? The key is to go into the holiday season with extra focus. Find a way to ensure that you are staying on track and are 100% up on your game so that when Thanksgiving and Christmas hit you can enjoy those days guilt free, knowing that you aren’t shame eating or hiding the extra 5-10lbs the last month has added to your midsection.

Currently I have two great things going on in my life! Both of which involve the KEY component to success in a weightloss or fitness journey… Accountability… And one of which I want to invite ALL OF YOU to join in on with me 🙂 But more on that in a bit.

The first thing I am doing to keep myself in check is participating in my box’s “Holly Jolly Challenge”. This is a team challenge with my fellow crossfitters where I have to track my workouts, mobility, and food … every day. The challenge is 6 weeks and don’t worry, you will be getting a check in from me for all 6 of them ;D Oh did I mention that we have to eat strict paleo. As well as I make sure my boyfriend and I eat, we certainly have not been STRICT paleo so this will be a fun adventure.

For the first week, I planned out some fun meal prep. I made a paleo beef stew and strict paleo version of my homemade chicken soup. The boyfriend and I have a pretty good grasps on our meals and we have our one cheat meal scheduled, booked, set, and in the back of our excited minds! I do believe that the food will be our biggest challenge but preparation is the key to success and I am quickly realizing the beauty of meal prep!
Now for the second thing…

The second thing that I am excited about is the #HolidaySweat challenge with @fitapproach and @runtothefinish 😀 It runs from Nov 9th to Jan 2nd! Oh man! There will be weekly and daily prompts to get involved on social media, you log your daily activity minutes, and get the chance fun prizes each week! Because who doesn’t love prizes?! AND of course, staying fit and active throughout the winter, holiday months! 😉

To start this challenge, we want everyone to take a second and think about their GOAL ACTIVE MINTUES for this week. Since part of the challenge is logging your active minutes each day, setting a goal to start the week will help us push yourself to be more active. When you set concrete goals you are more likely to work hard to reach them. Also, when you announce those goals to others you are even moooore likely to reach them because we have this instinct desire not to fail.

For instance, do you ever find yourself working harder during a team sport or a partner workout? Do you find yourself pushing past what you normally would if you feel like someone else is counting on you to? I know I sure do! Similarly, if you tell 3 people your goal for this week and ask them each to check in on if you’re meeting that, you will find that you will push yourself to do a little more if you’re falling behind. Simply because we don’t like to fail; especially when that’s due to making silly excuses. So I am going to tell all of you reading this that my goal minutes for this week is 500; at minimum. I have also stated this to my boyfriend. You can all follow along on my IG: @fitnessforrealpeople and Twitter: @fitness4realppl to see if I stick to it 😉

I challenge each of you to set your goal minutes today and tell at least 3 people what they are!
You can check out more information about the #Holidaysweat challenge here and you can get ahead a up for the rest of this week with the following social media prompts 🙂 …

For a large majority of Americans (and especially Canadians) this is the time of year that we take our workouts indoors. Bundle up and take your workout outside! Go for a run, try snoga (yoga in the snow), rent a fat tire bike. Put on some gloves and head to the nearest park for lunges, pull ups, push ups, and box jumps. Be sure to dress appropriately and always be safe (watch for ice!) #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat #sweatpink @albertamountaingal @runtothefinish @fitapproach

FREE FRIDAY! Show us what you’re up to today… sweating, eating, cooking, you name it! #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Happy sweating! Remember that accountability is the most important thing to help keep us on track, always and especially during the holiday months. Find someone with similar goals and bring them along for the journey! Having the support of a family member, friend, loved one, fellow gym member, or even someone in a fun online fitness community 😉